SLL79: Running into the hive 衝進蜂炮陣

A dangerous journey of gratitude through the Yanshui Beehive Fireworks 一場穿越鹽水蜂炮的感恩險途

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Running into the hive

Something strikes his shoulder. Something else burns the back of his neck. Red paper rushes through the air like bits of blood.

He keeps running. He can’t stop. He made a promise.

Sparks strike his helmet, jacket, gloves. One slips under his collar. Black smoke fills his helmet and blinds him for a moment. The smell of gunpowder stings his nostrils; the sudden taste of metal makes him cough.

How did this small town turn into a war zone so fast?

Then he sees him emerging through the smoke and streaks of light. It was surreal. The red-faced general and his long flowing black beard sits on a wooden palanquin moves slowly through the street on men’s shoulders. Rockets fly around him. Sparks rain down. People below him fall, cry out, and run for cover.

But the general does not move. He does not flinch.

The man stares for half a second, then lowers his head and runs harder. Last year, he faced a different kind of battle.

When the doctor told him about the tumor, he did not know what to say. So, he said nothing. He thanked him and went home. Then came the surgery. Then came the slow days of pain and waiting. He lived, but fear stayed inside him.

His daughter told him not to come tonight. He was too old. His wife said he had nothing left to prove. It was too dangerous. His bad knee said the same thing.

Still, he came. In the hospital, he made a promise. If he lived, he would come here and finish his part. He would run through the fire for Guan Gong. He would repay his vow (huan yuan).

More blasts tear across the street. The god rides on. The man runs on. Into the chaos of explosions, sparks and smoke. Into the unknown. In Yanshui. In the beehive fireworks.

Epilogue

The “war zone” in this story is actually one of Taiwan’s most famous Lantern Festival traditions. The Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival (鹽水蜂炮) takes place every year in Yanshui, Tainan, and its origins go back nearly 150 years. Local history says the custom began when a cholera epidemic struck the town in the late nineteenth century. Residents prayed to the warrior god Guan Gong or Guan Yu (關聖帝君) and carried his statue through the streets on a temple palanquin while setting off large amounts of firecrackers to drive away evil and disease. When the epidemic faded, the ritual became an annual act of gratitude. Today the festival draws hundreds of thousands of visitors, making it one of Taiwan’s best-known folk celebrations. [1][2]

The scale of the event is enormous. According to the Tainan City Government, the 2026 festival attracted around 600,000 visitors over two days. During the celebration, millions of small rockets are fired horizontally into the crowd like a swarm of bees, which gives the festival its name. Participants wear helmets, scarves, gloves, and thick jackets, then run toward the fireworks instead of away from them. Many believe being struck by the sparks brings luck, health, and protection in the coming year. For some participants, like the man in the story, the run is also a form of 還願 (huán yuàn)—repaying a vow made to the gods. After surviving illness or hardship, a believer returns to fulfill the promise he made to Guan Gong, running the fiery gauntlet as a public act of thanks. [2][3]

References

[1] Tourism Administration, Republic of China (Taiwan). Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival.
[2] Tainan City Government. “鹽水蜂炮活動順利圓滿落幕.” March 2026.
[3] Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan Religious Culture Map. Yanshui Beehive Rockets.

衝進蜂炮陣

有東西撞擊他的肩膀，另一樣東西灼燒著他的後頸。紅色的碎紙在空中飛竄，宛如點點血跡。

他繼續奔跑，不能停下。他許下了承諾。

火花擊中他的安全帽、外套和手套。一顆火星溜進了他的衣領。黑煙充斥在頭盔裡，讓他瞬間看不見前方。火藥味刺痛鼻腔，口中突如其來的金屬味讓他咳嗽不止。

這個小鎮怎麼會這麼快就變成了戰場？

接著，他看見「他」在煙霧和光束中顯現。那畫面如夢似幻：紅面將軍留著飄揚的黑長鬍鬚，坐在木製神轎上，由眾人抬著在街道上緩緩前行。火箭在他身邊穿梭，火花如雨般落下。神轎下方的人們倒下、呼喊，並尋找掩護。

但將軍紋絲不動，毫不退縮。

男子凝視了半秒，接著低下頭跑得更賣力了。去年，他面對的是另一種戰鬥。

當醫生告訴他腫瘤的事時，他不知該說什麼，所以他隻字未提。他謝過醫生後便回家了。接著是手術，然後是漫長、痛苦且煎熬的等待。他活了下來，但恐懼仍留在心中。

女兒告訴他今晚別來，說他年紀太大了。妻子說他不需要再證明什麼，這太危險了。他那受傷的膝蓋也說著同樣的話。

儘管如此，他還是來了。在醫院時，他許下了一個諾言：如果能活下去，他會來到這裡完成他的任務。他要為關公衝過火陣，他要「還願」。

更多的爆炸聲席捲街道。神明繼續出巡，男子繼續奔跑。衝向那充斥爆炸、火花與煙霧的混沌之中，衝向未知。在鹽水，在蜂炮陣中。

後記

故事中的「戰場」實際上是台灣最著名的元宵節傳統之一。鹽水蜂炮每年在台南鹽水舉行，其起源可追溯至近 150 年前。

地方誌記載，這項習俗始於 19 世紀末小鎮爆發霍亂疫情時。居民向戰神關聖帝君祈求，並抬著祂的神像繞境，同時燃放大量炮竹以驅除邪祟與疾病。當疫情消退後，這項儀式便演變成了每年的感恩活動。如今，該祭典吸引了數十萬遊客，成為台灣最知名的民俗慶典之一。

活動規模非常宏大。根據台南市政府統計，2026 年的祭典在兩天內吸引了約 60 萬名遊客。慶典期間，數百萬支小火箭（蜂炮）像蜂群一樣水平射向人群，這也是祭典名稱的由來。參與者穿戴安全帽、圍巾、手套和厚夾克，衝向煙火而非躲避。許多人相信被火花擊中能帶來新一年的好運、健康與庇佑。對於某些參與者（如故事中的男子）來說，奔跑也是一種「還願」——履行向神明許下的諾言。在度過病痛或困境後，信徒回到現場完成對關公的承諾，以衝過火陣的公開行動表達謝意。

Vocabulary | 慶典相關單字

1. Beehive fireworks, 蜂炮 (fēng pào)

2. Fireworks, 煙火 (yān huǒ)

3. Sparks, 火花 (huǒ huā)

4. Gunpowder, 火藥 (huǒ yào)

5. Palanquin, 神轎 (shén jiào)

6. Rockets, 火箭 (huǒ jiàn)

7. Repay a vow, 還願 (huán yuàn)

8. Lantern Festival, 元宵節 (yuán xiāo jié)

9. Origins, 起源 (qǐ yuán)

10. Cholera epidemic, 霍亂疫情 (huò luàn yì qíng)

11. Firecrackers, 炮竹 (pào zhú)

12. Ritual, 儀式 (yí shì)

13. Folk celebrations, 民俗慶典 (mín sú qìng diǎn)

14. Swarm, 蜂群 (fēng qún)

15. Protection, 庇佑 (bì yòu)